Vascular Plant Diversity Research Articles

The Vascular Plants Diversity of the Batı Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute Aksu Campus

This floristic research was carried out to determine the floristic composition of the Batı Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute campus located in Aksu district of Antalya (Türkiye). As a result of the field studies, total 225 plant taxa belonging to 61 families and 182 genera, of which 32 are cultivars, were identified. Only one endemic species was documented in the present study. The families which have the largest number of taxa in the research area are Fabaceae 31 (13.8%), Asteraceae 26 (11.6%), and Poaceae 18 (8.0%). In terms of phytogeographic region, taxa with Mediterranean (25.5%) and multi-regional elements or phytogeographically unknown (72.6%) are abundant. The biological spectrum of the flora according to Raunkiaer life forms shows that Theropyhtes (49.8%) are predominant.

CHANGES IN FLORA SPECIES COMPOSITION AND SOIL ENZYME ACTIVITY IN COMMUNITIES OF ACER NEGUNDO IN THE KEMEROVO REGION

The article presents the study results of the species composition of vascular plants and soil activity in communities dominated by Acer negundo . The studies were carried out on accounting sites located in the mountain-taiga and forest-steppe zones of Kuzbass. The selection of trial plots was made taking into account the horizontal differentiation of space into under-crown (registration plots) and external zones (control) of phytogenic fields. Floristic descriptions and analysis of the soil by the level of activity of enzymes (invertase, protease, phosphatase) were carried out using standard methods. The species diversity of vascular plants in the areas under study constituted 64 species. The dominant plant species in the ash-leaved maple communities were identified. Under the canopy of A. negundo , ruderal species - Cirsium setosum, Elytrigia repens, Lamium album, Urtica dioica, and Taraxacum officinale - dominate, while in the outer zones, the proportion of meadow species increases - Achillea millefolium, Dactylis glomerata, and Festuca pratensis . It has been established that the floristic composition of communities does not affect significantly the level of activity of soil enzymes. In the undercrown space of A. negundo , an increase in the activity of hydrolytic enzymes by an average of 11% was noted, compared with the outer zones.

Impacts of Diffuse Land-Use on Plant Diversity Patterns in the Miombo Woodlands of Western Zambia

Land use is known to influence the diversity of vascular plants in the Miombo woodlands. However, little is known about the interaction between soil and land use in herbaceous and woody species. We compared the diversity of vascular plants at the plot level (20 m × 50 m) and site level for three sites in the Miombo woodlands of western Zambia subject to different levels of intensity classes of diffuse land use (e.g., livestock herbivory and selective timber harvesting). For each of the sites, twenty plots were randomly selected for assessment of species composition of vascular plant species, indicators of land-use intensity, and soil chemistry per plot. We hypothesized that the site with the lowest human impact would have the highest richness and diversity of woody and herbaceous species. At the site level, we found that richness and diversity of woody species were unaffected by land-use intensity, whereas herbaceous species richness was higher for the protected site (28 species on average per 1000 m2) than the two other sites (23 and 21 species on average per 1000 m2). At the plot level, herbaceous species richness was positively associated with woodcutting and soil pH. We interpret the positive effect of woodcutting on herbaceous species richness as the effect of lower competition by the woody component for resources such as water, nutrients, and light. With regard to the absence of any effect of land-use intensity on the richness of woody species, we conclude that in our study areas selective timber harvesting may be at a sustainable level and might even have a positive effect on the diversity of the herbaceous layer.

The contribution of plant life and growth forms to global gradients of vascular plant diversity.

Plant life and growth forms (shortened to 'plant forms') represent key functional strategies of plants in relation to their environment and provide important insights into the ecological constraints acting on the distribution of biodiversity. Despite their functional importance, how the spectra of plant forms contribute to global gradients of plant diversity is unresolved. Using a novel dataset comprising > 295 000 species, we quantify the contribution of different plant forms to global gradients of vascular plant diversity. Furthermore, we establish how plant form distributions in different biogeographical regions are associated with contemporary and paleoclimate conditions, environmental heterogeneity and phylogeny. We find a major shift in representation of woody perennials in tropical latitudes to herb-dominated floras in temperate and boreal regions, following a sharp latitudinal gradient in plant form diversity from the tropics to the poles. We also find significant functional differences between regions, mirroring life and growth form responses to environmental conditions, which is mostly explained by contemporary climate (18-87%), and phylogeny (6-62%), with paleoclimate and heterogeneity playing a lesser role (< 23%). This research highlights variation in the importance of different plant forms to diversity gradients world-wide, shedding light on the ecological and evolutionary pressures constraining plant-trait distributions.

Floristic research at the Forest Research Institute of the Karelian Research Centre RAS: traditions of studying the species diversity of plants and fungi

Employees of the Forest Research Institute (FRI) KarRC RAS have contributed greatly to the study of the biodiversity of vascular plants, aphyllophoroid, sac and basidial fungi and lichens of the Republic of Karelia. Studies of vascular plants and various groups of fungi have been carried out since the FRI foundation in 1957 and are continuing successfully at present, with new tasks being set and the geographic range of interests expanding to cover the entire Northwest Russia. The lichenofloristic research component appeared at FRI later (in 1985) and is also developing. Prominent scientists such as V. I. Krutov, M. L. Ramenskaya, and V. I. Shubin, Doctors of Biological Sciences who worked at the FRI, made a huge contribution to the study of the biodiversity of Karelia, Eastern Fennoscandia, and the forest zone of European Russia as a whole. The role of these scientists and their students or successors is great not only in advancing the knowledge of the species diversity of Karelia and adjacent regions, but also in treating various issues of nature protection and sustainable use of natural resources, especially forest resources. The Institute’s employees have played a leading role in building the system of protected areas (PAs) in Karelia, especially considering that the republic’s first PA, Kivach Strict Nature Reserve, used to be a FRI unit for quite long. Botanists and mycologists from FRI participated in compiling the inventory of the flora and mycobiota and in preparing scientific substantiation papers for many planned PAs. Research continues in the PAs after their designation. Employees of the FRI prepared the first (unofficial) edition of the regional Red Data Book and then participated as leading authors in the preparation of three official editions of the Red Data Book. At present, many direct students (postgraduates) or successors of the pioneers in the study of the species diversity of vascular plants and fungi V. I. Krutov, M. L. Ramenskaya, and V. I. Shubin continue to work productively at the Institute.

Rapid response of vascular plants and insects to restoration of montane grasslands

IntroductionIndustrialization has ushered in massive changes in agriculture. Particularly in low mountain ranges, large-scale afforestation with Norway spruce on traditionally managed, semi-natural grasslands has caused a severe decline in biodiversity. Tree removal, hay transfer and resumption of grazing or mowing are typical measures to re-create species-rich grasslands. The aim of this study was to use vascular plants and three insect taxa (leafhoppers, true bugs, and grasshoppers) as bioindicators to evaluate the success of montane grassland restoration on former spruce forests in Central Europe. In addition, we intended to identify the drivers of species richness within the studied grasslands in order to derive suitable recommendations for habitat management.MethodsWe analyzed two different treatments: (i) grazed restoration sites where trees had been cut and species-rich green hay had been applied (N = 9) and (ii) target sites with a long continuity of low-intensity grazing (N = 9).Results and DiscussionOur study revealed that all studied taxa responded rapidly to the restoration measures. After a development period of 3 to 5 years, we found no differences in species richness and diversity of leafhoppers, true bugs and grasshoppers (all, target and threatened species). In addition, non-metric multidimensional scaling showed a large overlap in species composition between restoration and target grasslands. Among target and threatened species, vascular plants displayed the same pattern as insects and reached similar values when comparing the two treatments. However, total species richness and diversity of vascular plants were still higher on the target sites and species composition overlapped only partially. Grazing intensity was the predictor with the highest explanatory power in multivariable (Generalized) Linear Mixed-effects Models, being negatively related to species richness of leafhoppers and true bugs. We conclude that the measures implemented were effective in re-establishing target communities of different taxa. The transfer of seed-containing hay enabled or accelerated the development of the vegetation. Insects, on the other hand, were able to recolonize the restored grasslands on their own, given that these sites were embedded in a network of species-rich grasslands. With regard to insects (e.g., leafhoppers and true bugs), it should be ensured that grazing is applied at low intensity.

Plant diversity and ecological intensification in crop production systems

AbstractEcological intensification (EI) is the enhancement of ecosystem services to complement or substitute for the role of anthropogenic inputs in maintaining or increasing yields. EI has potential to increase farming’s environmental sustainability, e.g. reducing environmentally harmful management activities while sustaining yields. EI is based upon ecological processes which in turn are influenced by biodiversity. We review how biodiversity, particularly vascular plant diversity, can regulate ecosystem processes relevant to EI at multiple spatial scales. At an individual plant genotype level, complementarity in functional traits has a direct impact on productivity. At in-field, population level, mixtures of crop types confer resilience to minimize the risk of pest and disease incidence and spread. Scaling up to the field level, a diversity of non-crop plants (i.e. weeds) provides resources necessary for in-field functional processes, both below ground (carbon inputs, decomposition) and above ground (resource continuity for pollinators and natural enemies). At the landscape scale, mosaics of semi-natural and managed vegetation provide buffers against extreme events through flood and drought risk mitigation, climate amelioration and pest population regulation. Overall this emphasizes the importance of heterogeneity across scales in maintaining ecosystem functions in farmland. Major research challenges highlighted by our review include the need: to better integrate plant functional diversity (from traits to habitat scales) into cropping system design; to quantify the (likely interactive) contribution of plant diversity for effective EI relative to other management options; and to optimize through targeted management the system function benefits of biodiversity for resilient, efficient and productive agroecosystems.

Compositional change in vascular plant diversity in the alpine mountainous region of Indian north-western Himalaya indicate effects of warming

Compositional change in vascular plant diversity in the alpine mountainous region of Indian north-western Himalaya indicate effects of warming

Threats of land use to the global diversity of vascular plants

AbstractAimLand use is a main driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. However, quantifying its effects on global plant diversity remains a challenge due to the limited availability of data on the distributions of vascular plant species and their responses to land use. Here, we estimated the global extinction threat of land use to vascular plant species based on a novel integration of an ecoregion‐level species‐area model and the relative endemism richness of the ecoregions.LocationGlobal.MethodsFirst, we assessed ecoregion‐level extinction threats using a countryside species–area relationship model based on responses of local plant richness to land use types and intensities and a high‐resolution global land use map. Next, we estimated global species extinction threat by multiplying the relative endemism richness of each ecoregion with the ecoregion‐level extinction threats.ResultsOur results indicate that 11% of vascular plant species are threatened with global extinction. We found the largest extinction threats in the Neotropic and Palearctic realms, mainly due to cropland of minimal and high intensity, respectively.Main ConclusionsOur novel integration of the countryside species–area relationship and the relative endemism richness allows for the identification of hotspots of global extinction threat, as well as the contribution of specific land use types and intensities to this threat. Our findings inform where the development of measures to protect or restore plant diversity globally are most needed.

Classification of Vascular Plants in Vietnam According to Modern Classification Systems.

Vietnam is extremely rich in biodiversity, with a remarkable range of habitats and more than 13,500 species of vascular plants recorded for the flora of Vietnam. This number represents about 3 to 5% of the world's diversity of vascular plants. Over the past 30 years, there were two important documents on the vascular plants of Vietnam published, An Illustrated Flora of Vietnam (IFV) and Checklist of Plant Species of Vietnam (CPSV). During the past half century, the advent of molecular phylogenetics has witnessed dramatic changes in the classifications of vascular plants, and some modern classification systems of vascular plants have been established, e.g., PPG I, GPG, and APG. However, the vascular plants of Vietnam have not yet been classified according to these modern classification systems. In this paper, we present the history of the classification of vascular plants in Vietnam, compare the circumscription of all families of vascular plants occurring within Vietnam in IFV, CPSV, and the modern classification systems when applicable, and summarize familial assignments of all controversial genera in the different classifications. Furthermore, we also arrange the 37 families of lycophytes and ferns occurring within Vietnam according to the latest classification system (PPG I) and the 8 families of gymnosperms according to the latest Christenhusz's system (GPG). The 246 families of angiosperms are arranged according to the fourth edition of the latest Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG IV). These results are the foundation stones and would be helpful for future research on the flora of Vietnam and the arrangement of plant collections in Vietnamese herbaria based on the updated classifications.

Cultural Landscape as Both a Threat and an Opportunity to Preserve a High Conservation Value of Vascular Flora: A Case Study

This study aimed to show the influence of cultural landscape structure on species richnessand the conservation value of vascular flora.The analyses are based on 3201 original floristic lists (relevés) and 83,875 floristic data collected since 1994 within Gopło Millennium Park (Nadgoplański Park Tysiąclecia) in a rural area in central Poland. Descriptions of landscape composition in grid cells (0.5 km × 0.5 km) include land use structure, mean deviation of uneven proportions of various land use types, and Shannon index of diversity (H’). Vascular plant diversity was described using total species richness and contributions of groups of native and alien species. Assessment of floristic conservation value was based on qualitative and quantitative floristic index (Wfj and Wfi), mean coefficient of conservatism (C), and floristic quality index (FQI). Floristic analyses were conducted in relation to the whole study area and within grid cells, basing on numbers of species and number of floristic data. The results suggest that species richness in grid cells depends more strongly on diversity and evenness of contributions of land use types, irrespective of which land use types were present. Species richness is strongly dependent on land use structure. Larger contributions of arable fields and built-up areas are linked with a decrease in species richness of nonsynanthropic native plants and species of floristic conservation value. Regularity in this respect is very well illustrated by indices excluding the influence of species richness on floristic value (quantitative floristic index Wfi and mean coefficient of conservatism C). According to the algorithm of FQI, the most valuable floras are characterized by a large number of species with a high contribution of conservative ones. In the study area, this condition was met by floras of surface waters and wetlands.

Dynamics and recovery of forest understory biodiversity over 17 years following varying levels of retention harvesting

Abstract Retention harvesting is advocated as an alternative to intensive timber harvesting, such as clear‐cutting, to better maintain or facilitate recovery of biodiversity and other ecological values in managed forests. However, it is not clear how long the benefits of retention harvests persist. We investigated responses of understory vascular plant cover, richness, diversity (inverse Simpson index) and composition to a gradient in dispersed retention (2% [clear‐ cut], 10%, 20%, 50% and 75% retention; unharvested reference [100% retention]) at 3, 6, 11, and 17 years after harvest, in four boreal mixedwood forest types (deciduous (broadleaf)‐dominated, deciduous‐dominated with conifer understory, mixed, and conifer‐dominated) in western Canada. Understory cover and richness tended to increase in the short‐term (3 years), peaked at 6–11 years with differences following the gradient of harvesting intensity, then plateaued or declined in the second decade (17 years), by which time there were minimal or no differences among harvesting levels, including the reference. Responses for diversity were minimal. In contrast, composition varied along the gradient of harvesting intensity and showed little recovery towards the unharvested condition over the 17‐year period. Generally, for plant community composition, clear‐cut and lower retention treatments (10%, 20%) were similar to one another but differed from the higher retention and unharvested reference treatments. Synthesis and applications: Retention harvests can moderate the negative impacts of harvesting and facilitate the recovery of biodiversity. Our results suggest that for the cover, richness and diversity of understory vascular plants, this moderating influence is weak and short‐lived. However, higher levels of retention can temper changes in understory composition relative to the unharvested forest, but full recovery is likely to be slow and will be complicated by post‐harvest regeneration dynamics.

Floristic Patterns and Conservation Values of Mojave and Sonoran Desert Springs in California

In the face of a rapidly changing climate, spring-fed habitats are increasingly vulnerable to numerous threats. Botanical inventories provide valuable information to assess the conservation value of desert springs, and can serve as indicators to document changing conditions, including the proportion of native vs. nonnative taxa, diversity of life forms present that influence structure and function of ecosystems, species persistence and longevity, and the proportion of taxa that are rare and sensitive to land use change. Here we evaluate plant species composition and richness within and between springs, and evaluate botanical diversity with respect to physical parameters including hydrology and geography. We find that desert springs collectively support a large proportion of plant diversity, or nearly 22% of the total vascular plant diversity known within the California desert in only 0.000005% of the total land area. The springs we sampled are highly dissimilar in plant species composition, thus, restoration and management activities likely need to be highly individualized and site specific. Monitoring and inventory programs can increase opportunities for restoration and protection by providing information to assess warning signs of habitat degradation, such as changing species composition and local extirpation of wetland-dependent species.

Contributions to the flora of sweetgum forest nature protection area (Kargı Village/Bucak/Burdur)

This study deals with the vascular plant diversity of sweetgum (Liquidambar orientalis L.) forest which is one of the important natural areas of Burdur province. The research area is located in the Bucak district of Burdur province, which is placed in the C3 square according to Davis’ grid system. In the study, 123 genera belonging to 61 families, 134 species and subspecies taxa belonging to these genera were determined. The majority of the taxa are phytogeographically Mediterranean element (14.92%), and their endemism rate is 2.98%. Among the taxa, the family containing the highest number of species is Asteraceae (10.44%), and it is followed by Lamiaeae (8.95%) and Poaceae (7.46%). The aim of this study is to contribute to the studies which have intended to determine the biodiversity in Turkey and to protect important natural areas.

Plant species richness prediction from DESIS hyperspectral data: A comparison study on feature extraction procedures and regression models

The diversity of terrestrial vascular plants plays a key role in maintaining the stability and productivity of ecosystems. Monitoring species compositional diversity across large spatial scales is challenging and time consuming. Airborne hyperspectral imaging has shown promise for measuring plant diversity remotely, but to operationalise these efforts over large regions we need to advance satellite-based alternatives. The advanced spectral and spatial specification of the recently launched DESIS (the DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer) instrument provides a unique opportunity to test the potential for monitoring plant species diversity with spaceborne hyperspectral data. This study provides a quantitative assessment on the ability of DESIS hyperspectral data for predicting plant species richness in two different habitat types in southeast Australia. Spectral features were first extracted from the DESIS spectra, then regressed against on-ground estimates of plant species richness, with a two-fold cross validation scheme to assess the predictive performance. We tested and compared the effectiveness of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA), and Partial Least Squares analysis (PLS) for feature extraction, and Kernel Ridge Regression (KRR), Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), and Random Forest Regression (RFR) for species richness prediction. The best prediction results were r=0.76 and RMSE=5.89 for the Southern Tablelands region, and r=0.68 and RMSE=5.95 for the Snowy Mountains region. Relative importance analysis for the DESIS spectral bands showed that the red-edge, red, and blue spectral regions were more important for predicting plant species richness than the green bands and the near-infrared bands beyond red-edge. We also found that the DESIS hyperspectral data performed better than Sentinel-2 multispectral data in the prediction of plant species richness. Our results provide a quantitative reference for future studies exploring the potential of spaceborne hyperspectral data for plant biodiversity mapping.

Effects of grazing versus mowing on the vegetation of wet grasslands in the northern Pre‐Alps, Switzerland

AbstractQuestionWet grasslands are among the most threatened habitats in Central Europe and are subject to loss of their unique species assemblages. Grazing and mowing are important conservation management tools for such semi‐natural habitats. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the influence of grazing and mowing on the diversity and species composition of wet grassland vegetation.LocationMontane wet grasslands in the Gantrisch Nature Park, Switzerland.MethodsWe sampled 18 pairs of vegetation plots along land‐use borders between grazing and mowing (fence‐line contrasts), distributed over six fens, mostly belonging to the phytosociological alliance Calthion palustris. We tested for differences in structural parameters, biodiversity indices, mean ecological indicator values and the frequency of individual species. In addition, a detrended correspondence analysis was carried out.ResultsManagement type had no influence on species richness, Shannon index or Shannon evenness. Maximum microrelief, vegetation height, mean nutrient indicator value and mean competitive strategy were significantly higher with grazing, whereas the mean aeration indicator value and the mean ruderal strategy were significantly higher with mowing. Cirsium oleraceum, Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale and Juncus effusus, species of nutrient‐rich wet meadows, were more frequent under grazing, whereas mowing favoured grassland species with wide ecological amplitude, such as Plantago lanceolata and Trifolium pratense.ConclusionsAt the plot scale, vascular plant diversity did not differ between these management regimes. Thus, from the conservation point of view, in the study region, there is no clear preference for either management type, and both should be eligible for subsidies. At the landscape scale, it is beneficial to have both management types present to ensure high gamma‐diversity, as they favour different species.

Vascular plant diversity of National Key Protected Wild Plants, threatened species, and endemic species &lt;i&gt;ex situ&lt;/i&gt; conserved in botanic gardens of China

Vascular plant diversity of National Key Protected Wild Plants, threatened species, and endemic species &lt;i&gt;ex situ&lt;/i&gt; conserved in botanic gardens of China

Probabilistic and preferential sampling approaches offer integrated perspectives of Italian forest diversity

AbstractAimAssessing the performances of different sampling approaches for documenting community diversity may help to identify optimal sampling efforts and strategies, and to enhance conservation and monitoring planning. Here, we used two data sets based on probabilistic and preferential sampling schemes of Italian forest vegetation to analyze the multifaceted performances of the two approaches across three major forest types at a large scale.LocationItaly.MethodsWe pooled 804 probabilistic and 16,259 preferential forest plots as samples of vascular plant diversity across the country. We balanced the two data sets in terms of sizes, plot size, geographical position, and vegetation types. For each of the two data sets, 1000 subsets of 201 random plots were compared by calculating the shared and exclusive indicator species, their overlap in the multivariate space, and the areas encompassed by spatially‐constrained rarefaction curves. We then calculated an index of performance using the ratio between the additional and total information collected by each sampling approach. The performances were tested and evaluated across the three major forest types.ResultsThe probabilistic approach performed better in estimating species richness and diversity of species assemblages, but did not detect other components of the regional diversity, such as azonal forests. The preferential approach outperformed the probabilistic approach in detecting forest‐specialist species and plant diversity hotspots.ConclusionsUsing a novel workflow based on vegetation‐plot exclusivities and commonalities, our study suggests probabilistic and preferential sampling approaches are to be used in combination for better conservation and monitor planning purposes to detect multiple aspects of plant community diversity. Our findings can assist the implementation of national conservation planning and large‐scale monitoring of biodiversity.

Floristic Diversity of Vascular Plants in Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), Gandaki Province, Nepal

The Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) is the first and largest conservation area in Nepal and one of the richest protected areas of Nepal in terms of biodiversity. But the richness of the floristic diversity in ACA is not well documented. The present study was done through a review of the published and authentic works of literatures such as journals, books, reports to explore the diversity of vascular plants in the entire ACA. This study documented a total of 1,739 species of vascular plants belonging to 771 genera and 154 families, comprising 118 species of fern and fern allies, 16 species of Gymnosperms and 1,605 species of Angiosperms respectively. Asteraceae with 56 genera and 149 species was found to be the largest family, followed by Poaceae (61 genera, 91 species), Fabaceae (42 genera, 83 species), Rosaceae (23 genera, 82 species), Orchidaceae (43 genera, 81 species), Ranunculaceae (11 genera, 73 species) and Lamiceae (29 genera, 58 species) respectively. Similarly, Saxifraga was found to be the largest genera with 28 species followed by Primula (26 species), Potentilla (19 species), Pedicularis (18 species), Saussurea and Gentiana (17 species each) and Berberis (16 species) respectively. In terms of growth form (habits) of the species found in ACA, trees (11% species), shrubs (14% species), herbs (69% species) and climbers (6% species) respectively. Total 102 species of Angiosperms were found to be the Endemic to Nepal from ACA. The rich diversity of vascular plants reflects that ACA is the central point for wide range of compositions of eastern and western Himalayan floristic components.

Effects of historical management on the vegetation and habitat properties of wet meadows in Germany

Wet meadows in Germany are of high conservational value with a strong decline over the last centuries. Occasionally, new meadows developed, providing us with the opportunity to compare vegetation and habitat properties of wet meadows with currently similar, but different historical management. We categorized the areas as ancient, old or young, according to the point of establishment and grassland continuity in the last two centuries. Several trends derived from other grassland types proved also to be true for wet meadows like a high diversity of vascular plants and Red List species in long‐term managed grasslands. Old grasslands, established one to two centuries ago, exhibited the highest diversity of vascular plants and bryophytes, indicating additional plants arrived by seeding. We investigated species composition using ordination and indicator species. Ancient grasslands were characterized by plants adapted to wet meadows (Molinietalia) such as Rhinanthus serotinus. Young meadows were marked by plants revealing succession like Carex brizoides or a high productivity. A trend, contrary to other grassland types, was that most habitat properties exhibited no temporal pattern except habitat area and few soil attributes. Altogether, a stepwise intensification from ancient to young meadows was detected that reflects the fast development from traditional to modern agriculture. Including the grassland's history in conservation approaches and adapting the management accordingly will improve restoration attempts. Ancient and old grasslands provided more appropriate species for future wet meadows, whereas young grasslands often need a more intensive land use and would benefit from seeding to develop to species‐rich meadows.